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First-and-10: FSU becomes most dangerous team with issues behind-sn

Red-zone defense could be a huge advantage for Crimson Tide-sds

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Think back to the University of Alabama’s biggest defensive plays this season and many of them had something in common, where they occurred.
Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott having two passes picked off in the red zone. Auburn had the ball eight times within the 20, but notched just one touchdown until the final moments when Alabama was more concerned about the clock than anything else.
Tennessee also scored a late touchdown but at the expense of valuable time … and so on.
“I wouldn’t say the coaches have to say anything,” sophomore defensive end Jonathan Allen said. “The players know how important it is to have good red-zone defense.
“We feel like that’s saved us in a lot of games this year. That’s something we pride ourselves on as a defense.”
Perhaps the worst statistics that the NCAA keeps track of are red-zone offense and defense, because the numbers don’t tell half of the story.
For example, this season LSU has had the fewest defensive possessions in the red zone (27), Auburn created the most turnovers inside the 20 (six), and supposedly Mississippi State has been the stingiest defensively both in the Southeastern Conference and nationally.
SEC Team, Scored-Possessions, Percent
1. Mississippi State 24-40, 60.0
2. Arkansas 22-32, 68.8
3. Ole Miss 23-32, 71.9
4. Auburn 36-50, 72.0
5. LSU 21-27, 77.8
6. Georgia 29-37, 78.4
7. Alabama 33-40, 82.5
8. Florida 25-30, 83.3
9. Texas A&M 34-49, 87.2
10. South Carolina 49-56, 87.5
11. Missouri 31-35, 88.6
12. Vanderbilt 48-52, 92.3
13. Kentucky 41-44, 93.2
14. Tennessee 29-30, 96.7
With that 82.5 percent, Alabama officially ranks 56th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in red-zone defense.
The problem is that those numbers include both touchdowns and field goals.
Which SEC team gave up the most field goals in the red zone? Alabama with 18.
If you only count touchdowns, the numbers are very different.
SEC Team, TDs-Possessions, Percent
1. Alabama 15-40, 37.5
(tie) Ole Miss 12-32, 37.5
3. Mississippi State 15-40, 40.0
4. LSU 13-27, 48.1
5. Florida 16-30, 53.3
6. Auburn 28-50, 56.0
7. Texas A&M 22-39, 56.4
8. Arkansas 19-32, 59.4
9. South Carolina 34-56, 60.7
10. Vanderbilt 34-52, 65.4
11. Georgia 25-37, 65.7
(tie) Missouri 23-35, 65.7
12. Tennessee 20-30, 66.7
14. Kentucky 30-44, 68.1
The only teams in the nation to have given up fewer than Alabama’s 15 red-zone touchdowns are Ole Miss (12), LSU (13), Temple (13), TCU (13), Clemson (14) and Louisville (14). The Crimson Tide also played an extra game on all of them due to the SEC Championship.
But let’s take it to the next level, quality opponents. Here’s how Alabama’s defense fared against its six Top 25 teams this season:
Rank, Opponent, RZ possessions-TDs
No. 11 at Ole Miss 3-2
No. 21 Texas A&M 1-0
No. 16 at LSU 3-1
No. 1 Mississippi State 6-2
No. 15 Auburn 8-2
No. 16 vs. Missouri 3-1
That works out to 24 possessions, resulting in 19 scores and 89 total points …
… but just eight touchdowns in the six games, and only one rushing touchdown.
Junior safety Landon Collins credits the defensive line for a lot of that.
“They get penetration, and once you get penetration, I mean, it messes up the whole scheme of what the offense is trying to do,” he said “ If they read screen and they mess up the pullers, I mean, it starts with them.”
While the overall red-zone scoring percentage against ranked opponents is 79.2 percent, for touchdowns it’s just 30.0.
Thus, Coordinator Kirby Smart’s defense has been actually better at preventing red-zone touchdowns against ranked teams, when it mattered the most.
“We take it very seriously in practice,” junior cornerback Cyrus Jones said. “I guess your mental intensity goes up a lot in the red area because you know it’s going to be a critical stop a lot of the times and any time you can hold a team to three points instead of giving them six, it’s big.”
In comparison, Ohio State’s defense ranks 74th in the red zone, and its numbers are almost the exact opposite of Alabama’s. Of the 37 times opponents had the ball inside the 20 they scored 26 touchdowns (17 rushing), and just five field goals for 83.8 percent.
The touchdown percentage is 70.3 percent, which would have been last in the SEC.
Ohio State’s three ranked opponents (Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin, although the Badgers never got inside the 20), combined to have eight possessions in the red zone. They scored six touchdowns (75.0 percent) and one field goal (87.5).
Consequently, it could be a huge advantage for the Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“There’s just something about that goal-line that we don’t want nobody scoring on us,” Collins said.

Sugar Bowl matchup to watch: Alabama’s tackles vs. Bosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When asked, University of Alabama guard Arie Kouandjio had no problem raving about Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa.
It might have something to do with he probably won’t see that much of the unanimous All-American selection in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“I think he looks great, he looks awesome,” Kouandjio said. “He’s a strong-style player. He has some lineage and bloodlines tied to football and stuff like that. He’s another guy who’s going to be a challenge for us, a challenge we look forward to.”
Bosa, the Big Ten defensive player of the year despite being just a sophomore, was a finalist for three major national awards, the Bednarik (best defensive player), Rotary Lombardi (best lineman) and Ted Hendricks (top defensive end), but was shut out. He topped the conference with 13.5 sacks and 20.0 tackles for a loss.
As for the lineage part, his father John was a first-round NFL Draft pick by the Miami Dolphins out of Boston College in 1987, and his uncle on his mother side is former Ohio State standout linebacker Eric Kumerow.
“Joey Bosa is a really good player,” said Nick Saban, who recruited Bosa and offered him a scholarship when he was just 15. “He was a really, really good player in high school. We recruited him here really hard. His family has a lot of ties to Ohio State, and we certainly respect that.
“He’s certainly developed and played fantastic for them all year, and you have to have a tremendous amount of respect for that kind of competitive character and the effort and toughness and intangibles he plays with. He has really good ability. So you put all those things together and you have a really good player.”
The Crimson Tide players who will have to worry about Bosa the most are tackles Cam Robinson and Austin Shepherd, as Oho State likes to move him around. The 6-foot-6, 323-pound freshman Robinson is the best matchup in terms of size, as Bosa is listed as 6-5, 278, while Shepherd (6-5, 320) has the experience factor as a senior.
“I don’t really think about who I’m playing against,” Shepherd said. “ I kinda approach everybody the same way, so I’m really thinking about the accolades. I’m just trying to look at how I can beat him every play.”

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